Electric current converter



March 5, 1940. R. LEE 2,192,709

ELECTRIC CURRENT CONVERTER Filed March 18, 1937 INVENTOR '66 I. v ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 5, 1940 2,192,709

ELECTRIC CURRENT CONVERTER Royal Lee, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to Lee Engineering Research Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis, a corporation of Wisconsin Application March 18, 1937, Serial No. 131,619

g v '7 Claims. (01. ITS-@364) The invention relates to electric current conto the mains It by leads 25, one 01' these leads UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE vex-ting systems and apparatus.

In some types of current rectifiers and inverters use is made of a rotary commutator having brushes bearing thereon. When the brushes are carrying current at the instant they break contact with the commutator segments arcing or sparking will occur, thereby causing wear and depreciation of the commutator and brushes. Certain other types of converters make use of commutating devices with vibrating contacts. In many instances these contacts are required to break direct current, which is destructive to contact surfaces.

havinga switch 26.

A load 21 is connected to the direct current output terminals of the system, in some cases 1 through an intervening filter 28, here shown to have shunt condensers 29 and a series inductor 30. The load may be a pure resistance or may be a device such as a storage battery, which exerts a counter-electromotive force. For battery charging the filter may ordinarily be omitted.

In order to protect the commutator and its brushes from sparking or arcing the system is provided with a circuit interrupter, designated An object or the invention is to provide an elecal y by 3 whi h p s the u t t u h ltric current converting system having circuit inhe ommutator in the intervals in which the terrupting means for protecting a commutating to S gments pass from one brush to device in the system and for adjusting the point e ot e a d be e e S m nts leave the of current cut-off and also the point of current b so hat no current is broken at the tarting commutator. The interrupter is also used to Another object oI-the invention is to provide vary the points o c e t Sta t g a d means for varying t point of current tm which feature is advantageous when the load and the point of current starting while the system p s a ouhter-electromotive force. The inis in operation. terrupter forms a master control, thus provid- A further object is to connect the circuit ins i mp nd accurate adjustment. In the terrupting means in the alternating current por- System Shown in 8 1 the interrupter 3 is eontion of the system to insure long life for the conneeted n t e a ternating current portion of e tacts of t interrupting means, circuit, and particularly in one of the leads H The invention further consists in the several between the transformer Secondary l3 a d he features hereinafter described and claimed. slip rings It. By pla ng the interrupter in the Certain embodiments of the invention are illusalternating Current p n of t e circuit, the t t in t accompanying r i wherein contacts of the interrupter will have a relative- Fig. l is a schematic wiring diagram of a cury 1; life, and Will not be Su je t coiling rent converting system arranged in accordance building-11D, Since te a n Current, instead 85 it th i nt of unidirectional current, will fiow through the Fig. 2 is a schematic wiring diagram of another contacts.

form of current-converting system, and One suitable form of interrupter is shown in I Fig. 3 is a view of a circuit interrupter. wherein a Supporting p te or arm 3 of By way of illustration the current converting s a a ial s m unt d on a pivot 33 n 0 system shown inFjg, 1 is one for effecting fullan end Of the 11101201 2" and carries a fixed G011- vwave current rectification and having a, commutact-.34 and a movable contact 35. The contact hating device of t ot y type, Alternating 34 is mountedona bracket 36 anchored'on the current mains ID are connected to the primary plate, and the contact is mounted on the free winding ll of a variable ratio transformer, one e d of aaleafspr the Other e d of Which is 5 of the mains having aswitch |2 The secondary 5 secured t0 a bracket 38 BJIChOl'Gd on'the plate.

wi di I; of th transfonner 1 connected by The contacts are formed of tungsten or other releads u to brushes libearing on respective slip sistant metal plate 31 s a ope in 39 rings l5 o nt on a rotary shaft The receiving therethroughafour-lobed cam 40 which shaft also carries a commutator It, the approis carried on the end of the motor shaft H. The

. priate segments [9 of which are connected to cam bears on an insulating shoe 4| secured t0 th slip rings by conductors 20, The commutator the leaf spring 31 and serves to=oscillateor vibrate is here shown to have-four segments, opposite t Spring-c j s e a p tude ofmoveones'oi' which are connected together, but it will mentofthe contact 35 and therefore the time inbe understood that the number of segments willterv'arbetweeri the openingand closing of the depend on the speed of the shaft. Output b he' P a '3 is angularly d p ace'able b h :1, spaced 90apart, bear onadjacenton its pivot 33 by arotatabl'e canror eccentric commutator segments and are connected'by'leads 41 fitting ili'an Op nin or-slot formed in the 22 to the output. terminals 23 of the systen'n' Q'plate, theplate being -locked-in-'adjusted position The shaft forms the rotor shaft of a self-startby a screw 44 passing through a slot45 in the ing synchronous motor 24 which-is connected plat This c uct pe its t i te rupte to be readily and accurately adjusted while the motor is in operation. At the best operating adjustment little or no sparking will occur at the interrupter. The range of adjustment of the interrupter may be such as to permit the contacts to be continuously closed or continuously open. Since the opening and closing of the circuit is determined by the interrupter, exact spacing and positioning of the ends of commutator segments is not necessary.

In operation, the synchronous motor 24 is placed in operation by closing the switch 26, and after the motor attains its synchronous speed the switch i2 is closed, permitting alternating current to flow from the transformer to the slip rings i6 and commutator IS, the latter converting the current to direct current which flows through the filter 28 and load 21. When the filter is used the pulsating voltage across the terminals 23 does not fall to zero, and the same is true when a battery is being charged. The interrupter 3| operates twice during each alternating current cycle for interrupting the successive positive and negative current alternations, and is adjusted so that the opening and closing of the secondary circuit take place essentially at the contacts of the interrupter instead of at the commutator segments I9 and brushes 2|, thus minimizing wear and deterioration of commutator and its brushes. The interrupter can readily be adjusted while the motor is running to obtain a condition of minimum sparking or arcing.

I This adjustment varies the point of commutator cut-off. By varying the secondary voltage of the transformer the output of the rectifier may be adjusted. Within certain limits the variation of,

the secondary voltage of the transformer can also be used to obtain the optimum operating condition.

In that form of rectifying system shown in Fig. 2, an interrupter 3|, similar to the interrupter 3|, is placed in the primary circuit of the transformer, and-a similar interrupter 3|" is placed in one of the direct current output leads 22. These interrupters may be used conjointly or alternatively. For facility in illustration, the interrupters 3| and 3|" and the commutator |8 are shown to be driven by separate synchronous motors 24, but it will be understood that only one motor is required.

Since the interrupter 3| is traversed by direct current, it is necessary or desirable to provide protective means therefor, here exemplified by acondenser 46 connected across the contacts of the interrupter. A variable resistance or impedance "may be connected across the contacts to. pass apart of the output current, the value of the resistance being sufficiently high to adequately limit any reverse current that may flow. A similar resistance or impedance 48 is here shown to be connected acrossthe contacts of the interrupter 3|. In someinstances either or both of these resistances may-he ,open-circuited' or disconnected. 4 l. j The operation-of the systemjof Fig. 2 is sub;- stantially the. same as that of Fig. 1. ,The interrupter 3|, being inthe primary circuit of the step-down transformer, is required to handle only a relatively small current. when the interrupters 3| and 3|" are used coniointly, the inter-,

rupter 3|" may be setto open slightly later than the interrupter 3| sothat it will be required to; I break little or no current. The interrupter 3|",

however, will prevent orlimit the flow of back current, if a counter-electrornotive force is present in the load circuit.

While the interrupter 3| of the system of Fig. l is shown to completely interrupt a circuit, in some cases it may be shunted by a current limiting impedance in the manner of the interrupter 3| of the system of Fig. 2.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a current converting system, the combination of a circuit having. an alternating current portion and including a commutating device, and an interrupter in said alternating current portion operable during each current alternation to protect said commutating device from sparking, said interrupter having relatively movable, cooperating solid contacts.

2. In a current converting system, the combination of a circuit having an alternating curincluding a commutating device, and an interrupter in said alternating current portion having relatively reciprocatory, cooperating solid contacts and adjusting means therefor to.vary the point of current cut-off for the commutating device, said interrupter being operable during each current alternation.

4. In a current converting system, the combination of a circuit including a commutating device, said circuit having an alternating current portion in which both positive and negative current alternations flow, and an interrupter in said alternating current portion of said circuit to protect said commutating device from sparking, said interrupter being operable during each current alternation.

5. In a current converting system, the combination of a circuit including a commutating device, said circuit having an alternating current portion and a direct current portion, an interrupter in said alternating current portion of said circuit to operate during each current alternation and to protect said commutating device from sparking, and an interrupter in said direct current portion of said circuit to minimize flow of back current.-

6. In a'current rectifying system, the combination of a circuit including a full wave commutatdevice. 1

7.In acurrent rectifying system, the com- {bination of a circuit including a. commutatlng device, said circuit having an alternating current supply portion and a direct current output portion, said supply portion having a step-down transformer with primary and secondary windlugs, and an interrupter in circuit with said primary winding to determine the point of current cut-oi! for the commutating device.

- ROYAL LEE. 

